Gov. Haley Seeks to Strengthen SC Ethics Laws

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley says she wants the state to beef up its ethics laws.

The first-term Republican, who was herself cleared of ethics charges dating to when she was a state legislator, unveiled a five-pronged proposal Wednesday in Charleston, according to The State newspaper.

At the heart of the proposal from Haley and state Attorney General Alan Wilson is a requirement that lawmakers would have to disclose their income from all employers.

When Haley was running for governor in 2010, she was criticized for not revealing she had been paid $40,000 for work done as a consultant for a company that a state contract. Haley said at the time she did not disclose because she wasn’t required to by law.

The Haley-Wilson proposal also calls for the State Ethics Commission to investigate alleged ethics violations against all public officials, not just those holding statewide office, the newspaper said.

The governor said all branches of government should have to comply as well with South Carolina’s open records law, and both incumbents and challengers should have to file the same campaign paperwork.

In addition, she is proposing that lawyers not be allowed to vote on electing judges or on the appointment of judges to the state bench if they represent the jurists in their own legal practices.

Earlier this year, the House Ethics Commission cleared Haley of allegations that she illegally lobbied while a member of the state legislator.